During his State of the Union speech on January 8, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson outlined strategies to reduced poverty. At the time, the poverty rate in the country was just below 20 percent. It was effectively the start of the war on poverty.
We look at how that battle has fared in Vermont. Historian Lyn Blackwell looks at how the role of the towns and the state has changed over the past 200 years in the state. Then, Paul Dragon, administrator of the Vermont Office of Economic Opportunity, and UVM history professor and author Felicia Kornbluh outline how Vermont has fared in fighting poverty over the past 50 years and discuss what still needs to be done.
Also on the program, as student loan debt climbs, a new study looks at who is accumulating the highest levels of it. Jason Houle, Dartmouth College sociology professor, conducted a new study that's been published in the journal, Sociology of Education. He shares his findings on the disparities of debt.
Plus, we read your comments from our virtual mailbag.
Broadcast live on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.
